Each year, thousands of recruits all over the country commit to play varsity football for a college. Most of the time, recruits honor those commitments and sign with the schools. But football recruiting has changed; recruits are committing to school earlier in the process, before they can develop a strong loyalty to that school, and top-level recruiting is more cutthroat. Recruiting 'flips' are more common than ever.
The flip is one of recruiting's greatest arts, and there might not be a better coach at it than Urban Meyer. Meyer has flipped more than ten commits since 2011, a high number for only four years of recruiting. Here, we take a look at Urban Meyer's recruiting at Ohio State and who have been some of his biggest flips.
2012 CLASS
The 2012 class was Urban Meyer's first, one that required instant results. Many prospects who committed to other schools were scared off by Ohio State's coaching situation. Not many people knew who was going to be the coach at Ohio State, and opposing coaches whispered all sorts of things about the awful sanctions the NCAA would hand the football program.
In 2012, Urban Meyer flipped nine total players to Ohio State. Most notably, he flipped offensive tackle Taylor Decker, who had been a Notre Dame commit since March 2011. Meyer had an in for Decker; one of his first hires was Notre Dame offensive line coach Ed Warinner, who continued to recruit Decker after coming to Columbus. Decker took an official visit to Ohio State, de-committed from Notre Dame, and committed to the Buckeyes. Decker has been the starting left tackle for Ohio State for the last two years.
| Name | Position | Previous School |
|---|---|---|
| Tommy Schutt | DT | Penn State |
| Se'von Pittman | DE | Michigan State |
| Armani Reeves | CB | Penn State |
| Camren Williams | LB | Penn State |
| Taylor Decker | OT | Notre Dame |
| Kyle Dodson | OT | Wisconsin |
| Joey O'Connor | OT | Penn State |
| Ricquan Southward | WR | Miami (FL) |
Tommy Schutt and Armani Reeves are two contributors that Meyer flipped to Ohio State. Schutt committed to Penn State the summer before his senior year, but Mike Vrabel convinced him to give Ohio State a look once Penn State began to go through its own turmoil. Schutt visited in December of 2011 for an official visit, and flipped to Ohio State on December 12, 2011.
Reeves had a similar path, de-committing from Penn State shortly before the 2011 season. Reeves visited Ohio State in January 2012, and then joined the class a couple of days before signing day He has been a defensive contributor each of the last three seasons.
2013 CLASS
Although 2013 saw less flipping than 2012, five prospects – one of them the most hyped prospect in the class – were flips.
| Name | Position | Previous School |
|---|---|---|
| Dontre Wilson | RB | Oregon |
| Trey Johnson | LB | Auburn |
| Gareon Conley | CB | Michigan |
| Corey Smith | WR | Mississippi State |
| Jayme Thompson | S | West Virginia |
Without question, the biggest name to flip to the Buckeyes in 2013 was Dontre Wilson. Wilson committed to Oregon early in the recruiting process, but was looking for another school after Chip Kelly left Oregon for Philadelphia Eagles. More than anyone, Wilson was hyped to be the H-back to fill the vaunted "Percy Harvin role" for Meyer's offense. Wilson visited Ohio State for an unofficial visit in early 2013, and a couple of days before signing day, Wilson joined the Buckeyes.
Wilson has had moderate success with the Buckeyes. With his speed and quickness off the edge, Meyer can use him out in space; although Wilson has not been the sole answer at H-back, he is one of several Buckeyes to contribute at that position. He suffered a season ending injury in the win at Michigan State this season.
Another one of 2013's most important flips was Gareon Conley. Conley was a one time Michigan commit, one of the rare players to cross enemy lines in the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. Conley is playing well as a red-shirt freshman for Meyer, getting reps at cornerback alongside Doran Grant. When Grant leaves the team next season, Conley is likely to be one of the starting corners.
2014 CLASS
The 2014 class had the fewest flips in Meyer's four years, but it certainly had the beefiest. Demetrius Knox was committed to Texas in November of his junior season. He then de-committed from Texas in the following April and had Ohio State near the top of his list. By July 2013, Knox was familiar enough with Ohio State to commit without taking an official visit.
Brady Taylor was the other offensive lineman in the class to flip to Ohio State. Taylor was a Virginia Tech commit but long wanted an offer from his hometown Buckeyes. Once he got that offer, shortly before signing day, he was all Ohio State.
Darius Slade was the last member of Ohio State's 2014 class, and the most surprising. On signing day, defensive end Malik McDowell had yet to solidify a choice between Ohio State or Michigan State. Before McDowell could sign, Slade, himself a defensive end, flipped from his own commitment to the Spartans and signed with the Buckeyes. It's not clear how much McDowell factored into Slade's decision, but it was Urban Meyer's first signing day flip as a coach at Ohio State.
2015 CLASS
After a lull in 2014, the 2015 class is filled with flips. One of the biggest is Ohio linebacker Jerome Baker, who was one of the top linebackers in the country during his senior season. He committed to Florida over Ohio State over the summer, but after a few visits and instability at Florida Baker committed to Ohio State in October.
Alex Stump and Kevin Feder were two other flips for Urban Meyer for this class. Stump is a wide receiver from St. Edward's in Lakewood, Ohio. He committed to Kentucky early in the process but then flipped his commitment after earning an offer from Ohio State. Feder is a 6-foot-9 offensive tackle from prestigious Don Bosco in New Jersey. He committed to Miami very early in the process but then flipped to Ohio State over the summer. Other flips for this class include Branden Bowen from Utah and Joshua Norwood from Cincinnati.
Flipping is not a one-way enterprise. The Buckeyes have been vulnerable to flips as well; for example, they lost Ben Edwards to Auburn this summer. Over the last four years, though, the Buckeyes have flipped their way to some of the nation's top recruiting classes.
